Archive for the ‘Dental Comfort’ Category

Often when I meet patients, they say things like “I was told I need __________ but I’m not sure what that means, so I haven’t done anything about it.” Sometimes they say a procedure sounds scary, sometimes they worry that it will be uncomfortable. The amount of time required is often a concern, and of course finances are always a consideration.

What bothers me is that if these questions aren’t answered, and the patient doesn’t get needed treatment, problems get bigger!

Most patients find that a complete understanding of their situation takes the “scary” out of dental treatment. It is important not only to understand how treatment is accomplished, but any alternative treatments that may be available. And what happens if you do no treatment at all?

Ask your dentist or his team about anything that they haven’t made perfectly clear. Questions like: How? Why? When? How much? What if?

As your understanding level goes up, so does your comfort level! Both are very important! So JUST ASK!

We hear that phrase everywhere – good enough! Seth Godin wrote a blog about how hard it is to get that last ten percent of quality… it’s so very tempting to say that the extra effort to get from good to excellent is hardly worth it. What you’ve worked hard to accomplish, produce, create, is very good. It is… good enough.

But is good enough good enough? Do you “settle” with something less than excellent? I didn’t think so!

We all can think of individuals or companies that impress us with their “passionate pursuit of perfection”. Do we live like that in our personal lives, in our business lives?

I continually do my best to treat patients as I like to be treated. I obviously want to excel in treatment quality, but also in comfortable friendly service. I strive to make dental visits fun! While I know that some will say that can’t be done, we do have a very comfortable atmosphere in our office.

I would like your comments on how you go the “extra mile” in your life. Where do you take pains to get that last ten percent of quality – please share with me your thoughts on this!

We have so much to be thankful for! But in spite of the really great things like family, health and God’s grace to us, I’d like to focus on the traditional thanksgiving dinner.

In my family we make a big deal about traditional foods… maybe you do too! Do you ever see folks having a hard time chewing their thanksgiving turkey (“veggie” in my house) because they have some back teeth missing, or maybe the pressure of biting hurts one side or the other? Or maybe they pass on pecan or pumpkin pie, because the some teeth are sensitive to the sweetness. Or possibly they can’t enjoy ice cream on their pie – the cold hurts their teeth. Isn’t that sad??

Especially around the holidays, when so many wonderful foods make their appearance, it seems tragic not to be able to enjoy eating. Healthy teeth don’t hurt! And having healthy teeth in a nicely balanced bite lets you enjoy food and family for the holidays!

I have to tell you about one of my favorite patients! She is nine years old and as cute as can be. She saw us for her very first dental visit when she was three years old. She loves coming to the dentist! (And we love seeing her!)

A few weeks ago her dad told her they were coming to our dental office. She was very excited, and talked on for days about how much she was looking forward to the visit. Finally her dad teased her, “Danielle, I was just kidding… we’re not really going to the dentist.” She replied very seriously, “Dad, you may joke about something like going to Elitches (a local amusement park), when we’re not really going, but not something like going to the dentist. Besides, I looked in your schedule and saw that we really are going!”

She had a great visit, as usual. As they were driving home, her dad mentioned that he needed some additional work and would be returning soon. She said “you are so lucky, dad! You get to come back to see the dentist!”

As Dave Barry would say, “I am not making this up!” Unfortunately, not all patients are as excited to see us as cute little Danielle is, but we really try to make all dental visits as comfortable and fun as possible. If you know someone that is afraid of going to the dentist, or just dreads it, you can tell them that today’s dentistry can be fun!